Gratitude- Edition SPRING

93. Today, I got home from being gone for 3 days, and jumped back in the car to buy mulch. I LOVE mulch!! It smells amazing, looks beautiful, and covers a multitude of wintered over garden sins.
94. Fat robins. They are cute and waddle-y and pregnant. Adorable.
95. Being outside. If it made logical sense, this would be #s 95-905. I love the outdoors. It brings so much joy!
96. Vitamin D. (See #95!)
97. Chacos!! I am IN LOVE with my chaco flip flops. I've been wearing them every spring, winter, and fall, for the last 7 years. (This is my 3rd pair in 7 years, they last forever.) If I can manage it, I am in them 24/7!!
98. Picnics- especially impromptu ones. Peanut butter and jelly+clementines+a towel for a picnic blanket+my kids+the patio in the backyard. Bliss.
99. Walks in the park. No cliche here, I mean it!
100. THE PLAYGROUND!! Go! Get rid of that energy!! Do it somewhere that doesn't require me picking up 1000s of small pieces of toys/crafts!! YAY!! Its the outdoors!!
101. Prepping the garden. Loooovvveee this. Not happening this year- but maybe next year!!

And now, a few springtime memories.

102. Kentucky springs. They were SO early and SO beautiful!!
103. Kentucky spring- baby horses! It was so fun to drive past the same farms season after season and see the foals come in the spring! Amazing to see that kind of life.
104. Kentucky spring- meeting Billy & Kelly randomly in the neighborhood and walking or whathave you.
105. Kentucky spring- When Billy called to tell us he'd found us bikes, and we bought ghetto old bikes and road them around town. Good times.
106. Kentucky spring- Our first garden. We dug up that rental property (shhhh! don't tell) and acted like we knew what we were doing. We moved  before the majority of our produce was mature, but we got lettuce, peppers, herbs, onions, and raspberries from that garden. It was amazing!
107. Kentucky spring- walking to downtown wilmore.
108. Kentucky spring- the green and beautiful rolling hills. With the white fences.
109. Kentucky spring- the baskets of petunias that were hung on every lamppost from downtown to the edge of town. So small town, so beautiful.
110. Kentucky spring- photo shoots for seminary families. I loved photography in Kentucky!! It was so simple, relaxed, and beautiful. Such joy!!
111. Our daughter was born in spring of 2008. That will be a gratitude post all of its own.
112. Our son was born in spring of 2010. This will also be its own gratitude post.
113. March of 2009, meeting Billy & Kelly in St. Louis. Spring break, people. St. Patty's day parade. City museum. Italian restaurant.
114. My nephew was born in spring of 2007. I loved becoming an Auntie! Yay for Adrian.
115. Pre and post kids, I love spring walks. Its brisk, its edgy (so fancy and new after a long winter!), its too cold for my chacos, but I wear them anyways. I love every memory from these moments.
116. Stephanie & I jumping in puddles for hours at the little white house in Lincoln. Pink/green/black umbrellas. So awesome. Circa 1991?
117. Ketchikan springs. I don't remember them too well.... but what I remember was perfect.
118. Ketchikan springs. Finally warm enough to play outside in the rain. Yay for no more cold rain! :)
119. Ketchikan springs. I remember being so happy to find bugs in the yard. So much has changed. :)


Okay. Memories over. More spring gratitude.
120. Opening the house windows. I love the breeze. In this house, some of the windows are crappy, but we open the front and back doors, and a beautiful breeze goes through the house. What is better than airing out your house for the first time since the fall?
121. Opening the car windows. Evelyn complains its too cold, but I make her "suffer" for at least a few moments. When the kids aren't in the car, its possible that I roll the windows down and turn on the heat. Only for a little while, I promise, Scott! :)
122. Walking outside without a coat on...and not freezing to death. I hate coats. Its true.
123. Spring clothes! Hello cute crop pants! Hello skirts! Hello cardigans and skirt combos! Happy colors!! Yay!
124. No snow. There I said it. Goodbye snow!!
125. Discovering which plants wintered over for the winter.
126. The first buds on trees. I always pick one or two off and open them up to see the green inside.
127. Discovering the first bulb plants peeking out of the ground. Our irises, succulent somethings, and tulips are peeking out already!! I gave them some mulch today to keep them warm. :)
128. The weather forecast. I LOVE looking ahead on the 10 day forecast and seeing 10 beautiful days.
129. Spring rain in Nebraska. If you've never experienced it, you are missing out. I love standing in the garage or the front door and smelling the rain. Its such an amazing smell! I swear, it might add years to your life. So get outside Nebraskans, and smell the rain! If you aren't here, then I'm sorry. But your spring rain does NOT smell as good as Nebraska spring rain.
130. Rain boots. I don't own any cute ones, but I dream of them. A size 8.5 pair of black & white polka dotted wellies? I dream of you!! In the mean time, I'll wear my industrial-type yellow rain boots. They aren't cute, but they stomp in mud puddles just fine, thank you!

Moving!!

Yup!

We are moving to Lincoln on Monday.

NO! Our house hasn't sold.

We are borrowing a townhouse for less rent than we spend in gas money. 

JOY of JOYS! The commuting is OVER!!!! 

We can't wait to live in Lincoln. Things will be simple and quiet in our townhouse. We'll be taking about 1/6th of our possessions and living it easy! I can't wait. No really! Its going to be awesome and I may get rid of the other 5/6ths of our stuff once this experience is over! Watch out craigslist!! :)

Please still pray for our house to sell quickly!! 

Yoo-hoo

Hey readers-

I haven't updated the blog lately...because I like to not update the blog, I guess. I wish I was better at documenting time. Lately, I feel like its slipping past so quickly, and I want to capture every minute! But the truth is, its all I can do to keep my head on somewhat straight!! 

Someday I'll get all of the pics off of my cameras and into my computer and logged into perfectly ordered scrapbooks...right? :) 

Until then, I'll be tucking memories and moments into my pockets, stuffing them full, treasuring every bit and piece I can. Storing moments in my journal, my phone camera, my calendar, wherever I can fit them so that I never lose sight of these precious days!! 

In true form, these pictures are a few weeks old. But they capture the heart of my sweet kids. 

Evelyn in her (way too small) halloween-kitty costume. Wearing half pajamas, half normal clothes. Hair decked out in "clicky clacky" braids. No socks. Riding a pony. Talking or singing, probably. Oh, and that talking/singing? It will be at an ear piercing decibel. Always. Evelyn has two volumes-

1. Ridiculously-Incredibly-Painfully-Joyfully LOUD 

and, 

2. Asleep.

She is 2 years and 11 months. She is our sunbeam.

James. Smiling. This kid is an ear-to-ear grin from morning to night. Unless you try to keep him from food. Do not COME BETWEEN this child and his food. No sir. (He's double this size, by the way.)

Kitty costume, still. Now surrounding by puzzles. This scene is often recreated sans kitty costume, tu-tu instead. Replace puzzles with 100 books. Or, move this scene to the dining room, where she has pulled out every.single. marker and crayon and paper from her "work cabinet." She will be wearing 5 pairs of underwear, an upside down "jacket coat" and her tu-tu, again. She'll be "doing her work" and ask you to please not interrupt her. 

This little guy. Again, cheerful. He is "crawling" and just cruised around a toy bench yesterday for the first time. He says ma-ma and da-da and makes hilarious quacking noises. People immediately start laughing and smiling when they see him bouncing around the floor, squawking and laughing at himself. I hope that in the future, he has many of the same qualities he has today. He is patient (unless its involving food), easy going, funny, good natured, a risk-taker, and likes everyone and everything. 

He will almost certainly be a dare devil. Exhibited in many ways. One example was his first time in an outdoor/playground swing. I pushed him gently, thinking it would get a huge grin out of him, like it does for most babies at this age. None. He was bored out of his mind. So I gave him a good solid push. Once he was flying high in the air, he started beaming and laughing. Don't treat this kid like a baby, I mean seriously. 

He is 9 months old (adjusted) and he is our other sunbeam. :) 

Gratitude- Edition February 13th

in this edition of Gratitude posting, I am going to write about the incredible day we had yesterday!! 

71. The. weather. was. insane. Sunshine makes me soooo giddy! We ran around without coats!

72. Rolling the windows down in the car. THAT IS A LUXURY, PEOPLE!! 

73. Awesome church service! 

74. Seeing friends at church.

75. Seeing family at church. I could get used to that!

76. Youth bake sale at church. Need I say more?

77. Visiting open houses. Its fun to dream of moving to Lincoln!

78. Great conversation with my man in the car. Love car chats!

79. Being with the cutest man on the planet from sunup to sundown!

80. Going for a walk, outside, with the dog & my husband.

81. Wearing yellow rain-boots on aforementioned walk. You better believe I jumped in puddles and attempted to splash Scott. Yes, you better believe it, because it happened! 

82. Fountain Diet Coke! aka, Nectar of the Heavens. :) 

83. Having fun conversations planning for ministry at church with friends/family.

84. Laughing. A. LOT.

85. Awesome 30+ minute nap in the sunshiney car. Thanks Scott!!

86. Giving Scott a valentines present that was simple, but really made him happy! Yay for home-made-crafty-fun!

87. My parents, letting me crash their house for a shower on Sunday morning. Got to love the parents house crash at 27 years old. Thanks, Mom & Dad! Its always good to see you. :) 

88. Crab. Legs. What! Scott took me to an incredible restaurant and I got to order ANYTHING on the menu without worrying about cost. I know! It was insane. I got snow crab legs. Oh yes, I did. And I spent an hour with my little crab-leg-cracker tool and my tiny fork eating incredibly awesome seafood. This is a rare and special thing for me!! 

89. Flowers. Scott buys me a rose for every year we've had a valentines together. He does this every year, and while its not a "surprise" anymore, its always beautiful and special. This year- 6 beautiful and perfect yellow roses! 

90. Scott laughing at me for buying fresh asparagus at the grocery store when I was supposed to be buying a snack for the road. It was on sale, yo! And its never on sale this time of year! 

91. A late night stop at Trader Joes for dessert. We opted out of dessert at the restaurant and went to trader joes for something different. We got awesome dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I'm spoiled! I know it!! 

It was a fantastic day, obviously! I've SO MUCH to be greatful for!! Now off to get ready for item #92 on this list

92. Professional carpet cleaning! 

Gratitude

52. Slippers
53. Playplace at the mall
54. Coupons
55. Clearance clothing
56. The awesome contractor who is giving us a good deal to fix our house.
57. My sweet memory foam pillow
58. Angry birds.
59. Evelyn falling asleep on me yesterday- twice.
60. James ridiculously awesome smile.
61. The fact our family fits in our tiny new car.
62. The library.
63. Checking out dvd's at the library.
64. Charlie, the bearded dragon who lives at the library. He has provided endless entertainment for Evelyn.
65. My MOPS group.
66. The people who volunteer in my kids' sunday school class.
67. The first camera my grandpa gave me 1000 years ago.
68. That I had the privilege of knowing 3 of my grandparents very well. (1 died before I was born. I didn't get to know him, but I got my freckles and creativity from him!)
69. That I have inherited 4 grandparents by marriage, all who are living and healthy.
70. That my kids' adoptions spark  many conversations about adoption. I have the distinct privilege of hearing beautiful and heartfelt stories of how adoption has touched other families.

More Gratitude

28. My dog.

29. The gift of conversation.

30. My unexpected friend that lives a few blocks away.

31. Two great girl friends who live in St. Louis.

32. My shared-a-locker friend that lives in Lincoln.

33. My guitar playing/India loving friend that lives in Lincoln.

34. An old friend who lives with 8 teenage girls.

35. My roomie friends in Michigan, Georgia, and Lincoln.

36. My two friends in Texas.

37. My friend in Reno.

38. The other friends I've been blessed with. Too many to count.

39. The new friends I am making at our new church.

40. That we've never run out of money- even when we "should have".

41. Some specific financial advice that was given to us in 2006.

42. God speaking to me through the rainbow last week.

43. The fact I can find over 10 Bibles in my house. We are spoiled.

44. Scott & I's extended family. If I named them each individually, I'd be well into the hundreds on my gratitude count.

45. The legacy of adoption that has been handed down on BOTH sides of our family.

46. That my son inherited his name.

47. Two very special birthmoms.

48. Yoga pants.

49. Infant formula.

50. The women who have mentored me over the years.

51. My "first" friend who lives in Idaho.

Change/Gratitude

If you know our story, you know it is all about CHANGE. Scott & I's marriage has been a whirlwind. Its been a blast, but its also stressful! As much as we love adventure and new beginnings and "crazy", we also crave stability and quiet and rest. Trying to meld the two has made for some interesting moments. We are in the midst of another huge change as we prepare to move to Lincoln. More on that on another day.

Today I am focusing on contentment. As a new friend helped me remember yesterday, DISCONTENT is the greatest robber of JOY. So today, I am following advice found here- focusing on Gratitude. I am going to try to get together my 1000 things! I'll begin today.

1. My Savior
2. My husband
3. Evelyn
4. James
5. My parents
6. My sister
7. My in laws
8. My brother in laws- both named Nate.
9. My soon to be sister in law- Sam.
10. My nephews- Jackson & Adrian.
11. The quiet of the morning.
12. The special lady who took me to a *childless* lunch yesterday.
13. The fact my new phone plays podcasts for me while I drive.
14. Evelyn singing in her room when she wakes up.
15. The pile of grapefruit & oranges that were gifted to me. Snacktime!
16. The ever abundance of food we have in this country.
17. Running water.
18. My fuzzy bathrobe.
19. The sweet coos of my waking son.
20. New music, from the 5$ section at the bookstore yesterday.
21. My camera, and the art I enjoy for fun.
22. Crafting.
23. Emails from friends who are now far away.
24. The list of Thank you notes I need to write- reminding me again- how much I have to be thankful for.
25. The for sale sign in my yard.
26. The fact our neighbors (with whom we share a driveway) purchased a snowblower. Woot.
27. A warm house on a cold day.

We watched Christmas unfold.

We ended up needing to sell our older Saturn this year. We are purchasing a car from a family member, and so had no need for the Saturn. Scott posted it on Craigslist this week. Ho hum, right? Nothing new. A few people emailed/called. One family was extremely interested.

Scott drove to the church where the man worked. Turns out he is the senior pastor of a very large, North Omaha church. He and his wife wanted to buy the car. Still sort of Ho hum, nothing big.

Pastor & Wife were buying the car for a woman at their church. They had been praying for the right car. Starts to get a little less Ho Hum, doesn't it?

Car goes to mechanic- mechanics who love Jesus and love this story and love adoption. Scott talks a long time, they share the joy of the season of Jesus as they all work to check out the car and the transaction is decided- they'll buy the car.

Our car gets sold within days- a bit of joy for us.

Our car gets purchased (in cash) by a church family bursting at the seams with giving and love.

A woman who is ultimately deserving is given a gift she couldn't dream of.

The pastor & his wife stopped by tonight, paid for the car, signed the bill of sale, and were in a hurry to get back outside. The woman they were gifting the car was sitting outside in their car, clueless about what was going on. We exchange blessings, they walk outside their car.

We park ourselves in front of our blinds, peaking through, trying to be inconspicuous. We watch a beautiful older woman get out of her pastors car, and nearly fall over in joy. We couldn't hear her words, but her body language was grateful and thankful and shocked. Scott & I laugh and cheer and nearly cry. Loving that someone who had gave to someone who had not. We weren't much a "part" of the story, but we were thankful to be the audience to this blessed, beautiful, quiet gift.

The pastor and his wife didn't present the car in front of their church. They didn't have 100 people lined up to cheer for them as they did a good deed. No one called the newspaper, no one gave them a plaque for their goodness. They gave in the cover of darkness, on a quiet Benson street, in the cold winter, with the only audience being the nosy people watching from behind their curtains.

We watched Christmas unfold. Beautiful.

James 9 months old

James is 9.5 months, or 6.5 months adjusted age. (His adjusted age is the age he would have been if he had been full term!) Here are some facts about our munchkin

-He weighs 15lb 9 oz, and is 26 inches long.
-Is a smiley, happy, laid back little man.
-Sleeps 11 hours through the night most every night.
-Falls asleep really easily, pretty much anywhere. Can sleep through ANYTHING!
-Is learning to like his carseat
-LOVES solid foods. So far he has eaten turkey, chicken, apples, pears, peaches, mango, black beans, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas. He has loved every bite of every food we have given him.
-Starting to use a sippy cup. He has been less and less interested in his bottle, so we tried a sippy cup this week. He loves it and does pretty well holding it himself!
-Will NOT roll over
-Loves to "stand up" holding our hands.
-Loves to bounce in his bouncy seat
-Is trying desperately to army crawl. He just lays on the ground, propped on his hands, kicking with all his might. You can tell he wants to GO! I imagine he will be crawling soon.
-Has 0 teeth.
-Loves his big sister! She dotes on him, gives him toys, helps with his bottles, and he loves her acutely. When she passes by, he watches her and smiles! I love watching the bond of family form between them.
-Is starting to be really interested in toys and playing. He mostly wants to watch his sister or work on moving, but is beginning to be interested in toys. His favorite thing right now is his kick-piano.
-Loves all of his family members.
-Starting to recognize his name.
-A cuddly, snuggly guy, IF he is tired!
-Still likes to be swaddled to sleep.
-Wears 6-9month clothes
-Has BIG feet! I think he would be in a size 2 or 3 shoe!

*This picture was taken almost 2 months ago!

Evelyn- 2 years 8 months

Here is a rundown of our daughter as of today

• Loves when her hair is braided & goes "clicky clacky". 
• Does not love the act of having her hair braided.
• WILL NOT stay in bed. Bedtime/naptime takes over an hour. We've tried everything. Guess its a phase! (A 2 month long one)
• 39 inches tall and 29 lb (string bean!)
• Loves to run/dance/wiggle/giggle/laugh/scream/sing
• Plays guitar/piano whenever we let her
• Is terrified of the pool, the zoo, random toys, and the dark
• Loves all things sweet, all of her grandparents, both of her Uncles, her aunt, and her cousins
• Prays beautifully
• Loves to be outside- even when it is cold
• Has one chore- letting the dog in/out of the house
• Is good at putting her dishes in the sink
• Loves to be mommy's shadow/helper/mess maker
• Enjoys "laundry fights" with mom and "chase/wrestle" with Dad
• loves to go on dates with mom & dad or as a family
• Prefers chicken nuggets to all other foods (except sweets)
• loves to do crafts/art projects
• Enjoys puzzles and games
• Plays very well by herself 
• Has developed her imaginative play lately, and has really started "directing" play
• Loves to "help" with projects around the house

She is a joy, a bundle of energy, stubborn as an ox, and genuinely FUNNY. We love her!!!